CMTE 2.0 NEARING COMPLETION

News

January 11, 2019

The final phase of construction on East Mississippi Community College’s Center for
Manufacturing Technology Excellence 2.0 is under way and construction crews have shifted
their focus from infrastructure and framing to flooring, lighting and other finish
work.

“A dream that began in December 2013 is coming to fruition,” EMCC Workforce and Community
Services Vice President Dr. Raj Shaunak said. “Hopefully the CMTE 2.0 shall be ready
for occupancy and we will be teaching students there in the fall of 2019. Our staff
has been working diligently to ensure the transition to the new facility is smooth.”

A coalition of partners that included EMCC and local, state and federal officials
worked for three years to secure funding, nail down a site location and hammer out
program details for the $42-million facility dubbed the “Communiversity,” which will
house EMCC Workforce Division programs in advanced manufacturing.

The Appalachian Regional Commission provided more than $10 million for the project.
Other funding partners include the Mississippi Legislature and Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha
counties. The Golden Triangle Development LINK has also been instrumental in the project.

Area business and industry leaders comprise the advisory board for the Communiversity.

“They are our partners in every sense,” Shaunak said. “Not only are they guiding us
as to what activities should occur but they are also supporting us both through the
purchase of equipment and additional resources for operating the Communiversity.”

EMCC’s collaboration with area industries to provide students skills needed to work
in today’s high-tech manufacturing environments is a formula that predates the CMTE
2.0 and one that comes with a proven track record.

“Over the past decade, we have produced north of 10,000 trained employees to meet
the changing needs of incoming industries, whether it was American Eurocopter, Stark
Aerospace, Aurora Flight Sciences, or the aerospace sector in general. We are producing
employees with skills needed in advanced steel manufacturing processes. Our former
students are making 12.9 liter engines for PACCAR, or are employed at the most advanced
tire manufacturing plant that Yokohama has in the world.”

EMCC has worked closely with the companies to provide instruction specific to their
industries, often training students on the same cutting-edge equipment used on local
manufacturing shop floors.

The Golden Triangle area has experienced a manufacturing renaissance in recent years,
with an influx of industries like those listed above, as well as Steel Dynamics, Inc.,
SeverCorr Corporation (now Severstal Columbus) and Baldor Electric Company, which
is now ABB, to name a few.

“EMCC has been at the hub of attracting new industry,” Shaunak said. “In the end,
workforce development is economic development.”

Construction of the CMTE 2.0, which will expand the college’s capability to meet current
and future industry needs, has garnered widespread attention.

In October 2017, officials from Harvard Business School met with local elected officials,
members of the Golden Triangle Development Link, Mississippi State University and
EMCC on a fact-finding mission to determine if the success experienced in the region
could be duplicated elsewhere.

“I think many of us are worried that the American economy is doing half of its job,”
said Jan Rivkin, senior associate dean for Harvard Business School. “It (the economy)
is benefitting large companies and those who work for and invest in them but it is
not supporting working middle class Americans. Rural communities are really struggling.

“Yet, here in the Golden Triangle, we see something very different going on: A community
that is coming together to create broadly shared prosperity and great manufacturing
jobs. We came here to learn. We came here to see what is going on that is special
and to figure out what we might apply to other settings in other communities.”

“I see you all stepping up and showing that this region of North Mississippi and the
Appalachian region, which is my charge, can do anything that the rest of the country
or the rest of the world can do,” Thomas said. “You are changing the narrative of
this region by this type of planning and foresight in what you will be prepared to
do with the workforce in the future.”

The CMTE 2.0 will be at the center of the region’s workforce training.

Much of the instruction will take place in 21 high-bay laboratories designed to allow
easy access for the setup and removal of heavy machinery. Most of the bays will be
housed inside two, single-story wings that will intersect the main building at 45-degree
angles.

Programs that will have dedicated space in the bays are: Automation and Control Technology;
Electrical Technology; Electro-Mechanical Technology; Drafting and Design; Mechatronics
Technician; Precision Manufacturing and Machining Technology; and Industrial Maintenance.

Workforce services not directly related to advanced manufacturing, such as Automotive
Technology, Welding and Fabrication, and Information Systems, will remain in the original
Center for Manufacturing Technology complex on the college’s Mayhew campus.

Soft space in the new facility will be dedicated for start-ups and industries locating
to the area and seminar rooms will be available for educational, business and civic
purposes. Future plans call for a full-service cafeteria. The 145,638-square-foot
facility designed by Columbus-based PryorMorrow will also feature a two-story imagination
center, or museum, which will include interactive exhibits and displays of products
built by area manufacturers.

“One of our primary tasks will be to bring in young people so they can see what STEM
related career pathways exist,” Shaunak said. “We want them to know they can come
to EMCC and go through these programs, graduate without any substantial debt and earn
middle to high-wages from the outset.”

Plans are to expand the number of students in the programs when the need arises. There
has been a recent need, for example, for more trained technicians to repair industrial
machinery. EMCC graduates about 200 industrial technicians each year, which is up
from about 120 graduates four years ago.

“Our local business and industry partners have informed us that north of 350 technicians
are needed annually just to replace their aging workforce,” Shaunak said. “Our goal
and our hope is to provide the employees to meet that need.”

At its heart, the mission of the Communiversity will be to serve the community, Shaunak
said.

“On the one hand, we want to meet the needs of individuals who want to get a job,”
Shaunank said. “On the other hand, we want to serve the needs of business and industry
so they will have a skillful workforce and can remain globally competitive. The new
CMTE 2.0 will better help us to achieve that mission.”

Campus Tour

The faculty and staff at EMCC helped prep me for the next level. If I ever had any
questions, they were always available. They want us to not just be better students
but to be better people as well.

Mallory Vance

EMCC Alum

I owe who I am both professionally and personally to EMCC. The things I learned here
as a student have benefitted me, not only in my career but as a mom, a wife and in
every aspect as an individual.

Tawana Bauer

EMCC Recruiter

I found the professors and administration personally interested in every individual.
With that atmosphere EMCC gave me the self confidence and insight to successfully
transition into a four year university.

Beth Clay

EMCC Alum

I chose my field of study because I hope to run my own business. My teachers were
great. They were willing to meet with me after class if needed, and they never hesitated
to answer in-class questions as well.